Projectile



Jan. 18, 1955 E. w. BRANDT PROJECTILE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 4, 1952 R O m E V m ATTORNEYS Jan.'18, 1955 E. w. BRANDT PROJECTILE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1952 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent PROJECTILE Edgar William Brandt, Geneva, Switzerland, assignor to Anstalt fur die Entwicklung von Erfindungen und Gewerblichen Anwendungen Energa, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, a corporation of Liechtenstein Application April 4, 1952, Serial No. 280,630

2 Claims. (Cl. 10265.2)

Rifle and pistol projectiles and the like, are generally fired with the aid of a sleeve or extension piece fixed to the end of the barrel of the weapon over which sleeve the tail of the projectile fits.

The projectile is fired by means of a blank cartridge,

the gases of which apply their pressure to the base of the projectile, at the bottom of the stabilising tail. It is therefore necessary to impart suflicient strength to said base and to ensure tightness thereof, in order to protect the charge and the usual devices housed inside the body of the projectile.

Experience has shown that, on explosion of the projectile on impact, the base or a part of the latter may be projected towards the rear, through the tail which acts as a gun barrel for the purpose. This base may accidentally hit the firer.

The present invention aims at obviating the foregoing drawback.

To this end, in the projectile of the present invention, the intermediate member hereinbefore referred to is provided with a hollow in which the detonator is partly housed.

By virtue of this construction, the explosion of the detonator intended to transmit the fire to the charge also brings about the fragmentation into a large number of pieces of the whole of the intermediate member in the hollow in which the detonator is housed. Said parts, which may be projected through the tubular launching tail, are rapidly retarded during their trajectory by the resistance of the atmospheric air, in view of their very small mass.

In one embodiment of the invention, a washer of elastic or plastic material is disposed in the base of the hollow in the intermediate member, in order to alford better protection to the detonator on the firing of the shot. It is moreover preferable to employ in conjunction with said washer a metal disc occupying the base of said hollow with the object of still better protecting the charge in the event of any defect of manufacture existing in the intermediate member.

In the accompanying drawings, given solely by way of example,

Figure 1 illustrates in elevation a rifle projectile in accordance with the present invention, with part of the outer surface removed;

Figure 2 is an axial section of the rear of the body of a projectile of known type;

, Figure 3 shows the phenomenon resulting from the explosion of the projectile illustrated in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an axial section on an enlarged scale of a part of the projectile illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 5 illustrates the explosion of the projectile shown in Figures 1 and 4 and the fragmentation resulting therefrom.

The rifle projectile illustrated in Figure 1 has a head fuze 1, a body or casing 2, a charge 3, and a detonator 4, the rear of which is housed in a hollow 5 in the intermediate member 6. A centrally apertured washer 7 of rubber (or of any other elastic or plastic material) and a disc or mat 8 of metal, preferably steel, are interposed between the base of the detonator 4 and the base of the hollow 5. The tail 9, carrying the fins 10, is screwed into the intermediate member 6.

Rifle projectiles are already known which have an intermediate member 6a, such as that shown in Figure 2, and the detonator 4 can thus be held in position with the aid of a plastic member 7a. However during the explosion a portion 11 (Figure 3) of the intermediate member is cut off and projected towards the rear through the tubular tail 9 and may, after the fashion of a projectile, be thrown a certain distance.

In contradis'tinction, in the construction illustrated in Figure 4, the exploding detonator breaks into fragments the intermediate member 6 in which it is partly housed, at the same time as it communicates the fire to the charge. The washer shape given to the member 7 promotes the fragmentation of the intermediate member 6, which is reduced to the state of harmless fragments 12 which, due to their small mass, are rapidly retarded by the air and therefore have only a very small range.

It is obvious that the invention has been illustrated and described only by way of example and that various alterations and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A grenade to be fired with a launcher mounted on the barrel of a rifle, comprising a percussion head fuse, a body, an explosive charge in said body, a detonator behindsaid charge, an intermediate member behind said body and a tubular stabilizing tail, open at both ends, fixed on said intermediate member, said member being hollowed out on its opposite faces to provide two separate cavities, the rear part of the deonator being lodged in the front cavity and the front end of the tail engaging the opposite cavity, said latter cavity obturating said front end of the tail.

2. A projectile as claimed in claim 1, comprising a centrally apertured washer of resilient material interpos'ed between said detonator and the base of said front cavity, the aperture of the washer forming a passageway between the bottom of said detonator and said front cavity.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,330,144 Sherman Feb. 10, 1920 2,145,507 Denoix Jan. 31, 1939 2,371,151 Church et a1 Mar. 13, 1945 2,397,114 Anzalone Mar. 26, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 889,122 France Dec. 31, 1943 921,314 France May 5, 1947 933,904 France May 5, 1948 

